Tuz Khurmatu: One of the Kidnapped Found Killed

The body of a teenager found in Tuz Khurmatu district- Salahuddin province- according to security official. The killed was one of five people kidnapped at the district’s borders, the destiny of the other four is in between the uncertainty of being killed or freed.

Five citizens in a village between Chelwa and Tuz Khurmatu district were kidnaped by a number of fighter on Friday 9/2 a number of gunmen kidnapped. One day after, the body of one of them was found, but there is not one specific information about the fate of the rest.

Ali Hussein, a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander of the district border and deputy-head on Tuz Khurmatu council, said to KirkukNow: “of the five people kidnapped, today Saturday 10/2 the body of one found who is a teenager of 14 years old and his body was left amid wilderness around Hilewa village.”

Those five kidnapped people were working in agriculture and shepherding in a village to west of Tuz Khurmatu. Three of them are Arab Sunni, and the other two are Shia Turkmen.

Major Raed Abdulla, Tuz Khurmatu security official (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan member), said to KirkukNow: “as far as I know, three of the kidnapped were freed and the other two, who are of Shia sect no one knows thier whereabouts. The body that was today found is one of those two people whose whereabouts is unknown.”

He also added clarifying that the reason why the latter two people were not freed because they were Shia, and had helped the PMF in the area.

The area where those people were kidnapped from is not secured yet, and no family is living there according to what security and army officials who doubt that the kidnappers are ISIS remnants.

Colonel Kawa MalaParwez, Tuz Khurmatu security official (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan member), talked to KirkukNow saying: “the five people who were kidnapped by ISIS, they were all killed today Saturday, so far the body of one is found and we are searching for the others.”

Different information coming in did not settled the fate of the kidnapped at a time security officials lack evidence when giving interviews or statements related to the incident.

Kidnapping those people comes after a broad scale operation launched on Wednesday 7/2 by the Iraqi Forces at the west side and some areas of Tuz Khurmatu district aiming at cleaning the borders from security breaches and armed groups.

Tuz Khurmatu is the only disputed area within Salahuddin province where: Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens live together. Post-October 16, 2017 the Iraqi Forces took control of the area after the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces.